O'HARE — Complaints about jet noise from Chicago rose 6 percent from September to November as Northwest Side residents continued to file objections to the racket made by planes using east-west runways at O'Hare Airport.
In November, 145,997 complaints were filed by Chicago residents with city officials, according to data released Friday by the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission. Nearly 28 percent of those complaints came from just five addresses, officials said.
That was down approximately 2.5 percent from October, when Chicago residents filed 149,946 complaints, according to the data. Approximately 22 percent of those complaints came from just five addresses, officials said.
While the total number complaints rose, the number of Chicagoans who complained about jet noise dropped approximately 5.5 percent, according to the commission.
The tally of complaints includes those logged through chicagonoisecomplaint.com, which was designed by Darrin Thomas, a member of the Fair Allocation in Runways Coalition, to allow angry residents to log their anger with one click, rather than fill out the city's long form.
The total number of complaints from the city and surrounding suburbs about jet noise rose 1,044 percent from November 2014 to November 2015.
The total number of complaints from city and suburban addresses dropped 9.5 percent from September to November to 351,873, according to the commission.
Approximately 34 percent percent of complaints from both the city and the suburbs were made from 10 addresses, according to the commission.
Complaints can be made by calling a 24-hour hotline — 800-435-9569 — or submitting an online form.
In Chicago, residents of the 41st Ward, which includes Norwood Park, Edgebrook and Edison Park, rose 32 percent from September to November, according to the commission.
In October 2013, a new east-west runway opened as part of the $8.7 billion O'Hare Modernization Program, sending hundreds of flights over areas of the Northwest Side like North Park, Jefferson Park Edgebrook, Edison Park and Norwood Park that previously heard little or no jet noise in previous years.
Flight patterns at O'Hare are designed to ensure the airport operates as efficiently and safely as possible, federal aviation officials said.
The newest east-west runway at O'Hare opened Oct. 15. The $516 million runway, on the south side of the airport at Berteau Avenue, will be used mostly for arrivals from the west, at least until 2021 when the airport expansion is expected to be completed.
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